First-Time Speakers Bring More Than Credentials
Tech conferences tend to feature the same kind of speaker biography: years of experience, an impressive title, a track record of achievements. For early-career professionals, that lineup can feel like a closed club. Victoria Nduka, a UX designer who gave her first international talk at WordPress Accessibility Day 2024, argues that conferences lose out when newcomers stay silent. Her own path from novice to speaker shows why fresh voices belong on stage.
From Outreachy Intern to Conference Speaker
Nduka’s introduction to web accessibility came through an Outreachy internship, where she worked on caMicroscope, an open-source tool for analyzing digital images of body tissues. Her task: improve the tool’s accessibility. That meant running audits and fixing technical issues — work she had never done before.
As her internship wrapped up, she looked for accessibility events to connect with others in the field. That search turned up the Call for Proposals for WordPress Accessibility Day 2024. Her initial reaction was hesitation. She doubted whether she had anything worth saying to an audience of accessibility specialists. But two things pushed her forward: the CFP explicitly encouraged first-time speakers, and she realized her experience was genuinely unusual. How many UX designers get to not only test for accessibility but implement the fixes themselves?
She submitted a proposal, and it was accepted. Then came the harder part: preparing the talk. She reworked her slides four times, made edits the night before, and watched earlier sessions partly for tips and partly to compare herself unfavorably to more polished presenters. The imposter syndrome persisted until she actually started speaking. Once on stage, her anxiety faded, and the 40-minute session on manual accessibility testing went smoothly.
The experience changed her outlook. She has since submitted another proposal for a different conference, and her doubts now concern whether the talk will be accepted — not whether she is qualified to give it.
Why Good Speakers Get Silenced
Part of the problem is how conferences present their speakers. Event introductions often read like a list of credentials: senior titles, years of experience, companies founded, metrics that sound like a pitch deck. For someone new to the field, that framing creates a subtle equation in the listener’s mind: speaker equals expert. If you are not an expert, you must not belong on stage.
That assumption is wrong, but it is also understandable. Conferences cultivate an aura of authority, and newcomers internalize the idea that they have nothing to offer until they accumulate the same badges of seniority.
Dealing With Impostor Syndrome
If you are hesitant to submit a talk proposal because you doubt your qualifications, Nduka’s advice is practical rather than motivational. Start by accepting where you are in your career.
Stop Pretending to Be an Expert
The pressure you feel likely comes from trying to present yourself as something you are not yet. Your anxiety is the gap between that false image and your actual experience. If you stop performing expertise, the weight lifts. Novices are not the only nervous speakers — veterans get anxious too. There is no requirement that only veterans take the stage.
Practice Your Way to Confidence
Speaking experience only comes from speaking. So rehearse — with a rubber duck, a pet, a friend, or anyone who will listen. Every session reveals better ways to phrase ideas and exposes gaps in your own understanding. Record yourself. It is uncomfortable, but it is the most direct way to improve delivery and body language.
Leverage Your Recent Learning Curve
Being close to the beginning of your journey is not a disadvantage — it is a qualification. You remember what it feels like to struggle with concepts that experts have long since internalized. That makes you well positioned to explain those struggles to others who are just starting out. A person who recently overcome a learning curve is often a better guide than someone who forgot the curve existed.
Shift From Proving to Sharing
Replacing the goal of “I need to prove I’m an expert” with “I want to share what I’ve learned” removes the pressure to be flawless. Audiences tend to value honest accounts of failures, surprises, and practical trade-offs more than polished theory. The details worth sharing include:
- Specific problems you encountered and how you solved them;
- Lessons learned from failed approaches;
- Real-world trade-offs and decisions you had to make;
- Insights that surprised you along the way;
- Practical tips that are not in the standard documentation.
Audiences Want You to Succeed
Attendees come to learn, not to judge. They have no incentive to watch you fail. Many will appreciate hearing from someone who matches their own experience level, and admitting that you are new can make your talk more approachable than a flawless performance ever would.
The Cost of Missing Newcomer Perspectives
Conferences lose more than variety when early-career professionals stay home. Newcomers bring a kind of thinking that comes from not yet knowing how things are “supposed” to be done. They ask the questions that incumbents no longer think to ask and propose solutions that are not constrained by accumulated assumptions. The well-known story of the truck stuck under a bridge — where a schoolboy suggests deflating the tires while engineers try complex maneuvers — illustrates the point in miniature.
Representation matters here beyond just filling a diversity quota. When Nduka reviews a past speaker lineup, she looks for anyone like herself — Nigerian, female, new to tech. Seeing such a person on stage makes her feel the event is accessible to her. Not seeing one makes her hesitate to apply.
Speaking at an event is never solely about the speaker. A talk can reinforce a newcomer’s decision to stay in tech, inspire someone else to submit a proposal, or offer a fresh perspective that solves a problem for someone in the audience. Those outcomes do not require an extensive biography. They only require someone willing to share what they have learned so far.
What First-Time Speaking Actually Gets You
Submitting a talk proposal as a junior developer can feel like an act of nerve rather than ambition. Yet the payoff goes beyond the session itself. From deeper subject mastery to a stronger professional network, the returns are measurable and often immediate.
Teaching Forces Real Learning
Preparing a 30-minute talk compresses months of casual learning into a few intense weeks. When I was slated to speak at an accessibility event, I researched not only my topic but also how to make the slides and delivery accessible — a requirement I would not have considered otherwise. Audience questions pushed me to examine angles I had not explored. The depth of understanding gained in that preparation exceeded what I would have absorbed in several months of routine work.
Confidence That Carries Over
The first time you push code to production feels terrifying, then empowering. Speaking triggers the same arc. After my debut talk, I was noticeably more assertive in team meetings and more willing to challenge assumptions. Facing a room (or a webcam) and delivering your own material recalibrates what feels daunting in your day job.
A Network That Comes To You
Networking as an attendee means sending connection requests into the void. After my talk, the requests were inbound — from people whose careers I had previously admired from a distance. The talk itself becomes the conversation starter. At networking sessions, which can otherwise feel forced, people approach you with genuine interest in your perspective. Discussions become substantive and focused on shared passion.
Resume and Career Signal
“Speaker at WordPress Accessibility Day” on a resume signals initiative and expertise beyond daily deliverables. It differentiates you from candidates with comparable experience who have not put themselves out there. Many conferences also offer speakers free or discounted admission to future events — access to learning that early-career budgets might otherwise block.
A Permanent Contribution
Virtual conference recordings typically land on YouTube. A 30-minute presentation becomes a searchable resource for anyone tackling the same problem. I have lost count of the conference videos that answered my own questions or informed my articles and later talks. Now I am on the other side of that exchange. These videos function as a living portfolio, documenting your expertise and your evolution as a communicator.
Compensation and Personal Brand
Payment is not always discussed openly, but many conferences compensate speakers or cover travel. Even unpaid engagements yield portfolio material with long-term value. Every talk produces content you can share, cite in interviews, and reference when a recruiter says, “I remember you from that conference.” In a competitive industry, that recognition is rare and valuable.
Practical Advice for First-Timers
The following tips come from my own preparation process, complemented by well-established guidance on conference speaking. They are field-tested and meant to lower the barrier to entry.
Anchor on Passion and Personal Experience
Pick a topic you genuinely care about; enthusiasm is infectious and carries a presentation. The strongest proposals often emerge from recent, concrete experiences:
- A new skill that simplified your workflow.
- A workshop that changed your problem-solving approach.
- A clever workaround for a common issue.
To surface ideas, do not wait for the call for proposals. Track daily curiosities as they arise — the mundane task where you found a hook can become the core of a compelling pitch.
Prepare in Layers
Deep research is only half the job. Rehearse multiple times, refine transitions, and analyze recordings of successful talks. Ask what worked for those speakers: How did they hold attention? Where did explanations get muddy? Watching others critically sharpens your own delivery. If your topic stems from personal experience, you already have a head start on authority.
Treat It as a Conversation
A talk is a dialogue. Invite questions throughout, and stay attuned to the audience’s body language. If faces look puzzled, pause and rephrase. That personal connection keeps people engaged and invested in what you have to say.
Begin Virtually if Needed
If a live stage feels too intimidating, start online. Presenting from home reduces logistical pressure, and you can reference notes without the audience noticing the difference.
Find Fellow First-Timers
Before my talk, I searched YouTube for early-career speakers and deliberately watched their first appearances. Those talks were not polished — that was precisely the point. Watching them proved that perfection is not the goal. I noted what worked and what did not, then applied those lessons to my own material.
If you are more outgoing, reach out to other new speakers on LinkedIn, Twitter, or at local meetups. A support network that understands the shared experience is reassuring. You can rehearse together and give honest, useful feedback.
Drop the Facade
Your authenticity outweighs a flawless performance. Share personal anecdotes, acknowledge challenges, and be open about your learning path. Audiences connect with the person, not just the expertise — humility resonates far more than an impersonal veneer.
The Leap Is Worth It
Looking back, I am glad I applied despite my doubts. The experience accelerated my growth and connected me to a remarkable community. Every expert started as a beginner. The next time a call for speakers crosses your feed, do not scroll past it — apply, share what you know, and see who you inspire and what doors open in return.
Further Reading
- “Getting Started in Public Speaking: Global Diversity CFP Day,” Rachel Andrew
- “Complete Guide to Giving Your First Conference Talk,” Gwendolyn Faraday
- “How to Prepare for Your First Conference Talk,” Lisa Wentz M.A.
- “How to Write a Conference Talk Abstract That Will Get Accepted,” Linda Ikechukwu
